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No schooling for me. I do have a degree but it is in an unrelated field. Depending on the state you’re located you may need a degree for licensure but it is possible to have a good career in surveying without a license. If you ever have questions or need advice just let me know. Your first step would be applying to local surveying/engineering firms as a survey field tech. That will get you started and you’ll know pretty quick if it’s a job you enjoy!

@@christiandenniston7177 i really appreciate it thank you

It’s a Schonstedt metal locator. We use it to assist us in locating property corners and also for recovering control points.

Thanks! Yeah I agree about the audio. This video was straight audio from the camera. On a previous trip I rolled the canoe and because I had an external mic attached to the camera both the camera and mic were destroyed by the water. I may get a different external mic eventually.

If the health department is requiring a survey then you likely can’t escape that requirement. They want a map showing that the septic system will be on your parcel and meet all of the required setbacks/distances. A proper survey is the only way to verify this. Those prices seem reasonable based on prices in our area. I understand your concern about the cost but unfortunately everything seemingly cost an inordinate amount of money these days.

@@christiandenniston7177 Thank-you for taking the time to answer. Yes, you are correct about everything being expensive.

Thanks! Tent is the Big Agnes Fly Creek UL2 and the canoe is the Wenonah Wee Lassie.

For sure! It’s tough because most days we are too busy to film without losing productivity. It takes the right kind of schedule for the day to allow for filming. If you haven’t watched my surveying video on Andrew Camarata’s channel you should check that out. He posted it a few months ago and it documents us setting some property corners for Andrew.

I lost the Bending Branches paddle in some rapids in Maine hahaha! I was so disappointed. Loved that paddle, but it’s expensive so I haven’t repurchased yet. I appreciate you watching the videos. Heading to some knew spots this year that hopefully I will film and make videos for. I only make the videos when I’m in the mood so many trips don’t get documented.

Wasn’t me as I haven’t been up Hunter for a while now (or any of the high peaks for that matter), I need to head up to the fire tower this year! How are conditions at higher elevations right now? I’ve had a busy winter but starting to plan some trips in the next month or two.

Well, as of two weeks ago, slide mountain, and Hunter Mountain both had nice snow conditions, especially slide. Maybe a foot or two at the top -nicely packed snow. Microspikes all the way. Hopefully we get some more accumulation before Winter ends. Like you, I consider day hikes as training hikes and don’t worry about the pack being light per se. I also carry a tarp as well as a sleeping quilt on all my winter outings as a safety measure. Additionally, I’ve been also bringing an extra base layer top which I change into at the summit for a warmer and drier descent.

That’s what I love about it. One day I’m on top of a mountain and the next day I’ve got my head down a sewer manhole attempting to measure an invert hahah. Quite the variety!

It is the Adirondack Paddlers North Map which you can purchase on the ADK organization website. Great map, but large so can be unwieldy while in the boat.

@christiandenniston7177 thank you

Nothing you say? How so?! Haha.

Thanks Boss! We will need to take the canoes up north this spring.

It was (somewhat controversially) rescinded a few years ago. They weren’t getting many visitors due to the ban apparently which is understandable. I can take or leave campfires. But when I have the time and energy it is nice to enjoy my evening and pass time building and tending a campfire. Just feels right.

Thank you! I’m not sure exactly how far I hang a bear bag haha, maybe a couple hundred feet or so? Usually it’s within view of the camp but just a comfortable distance away. A lot of it depends on trying to find a good tree branch to toss it over which is sometime surprisingly harder to find than one would think ha. For water I filter it all using a sawyer squeeze which is affordable and works well. I boil water for coffee and rehydrating food with my stove but it’s only for the purpose of heat not treating the water as it’s already been run through the filter.

I used a bear bag for about 45 years. If you are going to use a bear bag, use the "Triangle Method;" cook in one area, sleep in another and hang your bag in another. They should be at least 100 feet apart. A couple of years ago, I went to a bear canister. Although bulky and heavier than a bag, it eliminates the need to find a suitable tree to hang. I use a BearVault BV500 and get 7 days worth of food in it. I have a mesh bag that attaches to my Granite Gear Portage pack; the canister and an Ursack (for trash) go in their for the carries. This system has worked out well for me.

@@christiandenniston7177 Thank you , cant wait to see more of your adventures! Really enjoyed the video! Looks so relaxing, slows life down

@@jwblaser Thank you!

Thank you! Good to post again finally. The portages were not too bad. You could use wheels on the first portage from the parking lot to deer pond. But the portage from deer pond to third lake is about 0.5 miles. Not a terrible portage but a good distance. However after that you’re free to explore 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, and 7th lake without getting out of the canoe. Just enough portaging to keep most people out haha! The Essex chain really feels like an undiscovered best kept secret. Couldn’t believe how empty it was on a beautiful weekend.

Thank you for the assessment. I hope I can recreate your trip this fall. See you next video. @@christiandenniston7177

Great! Be sure to try and get that campsite on sixth lake, its a beautiful spot!@@ronbaker9971

Thank you! I need to catch up on your videos. I want to watch the Bourn Pond video, that’s an area not too far from where I stay in VT.

@@christiandenniston7177 Nice, I really enjoy that area, plus it’s only about an hour and a half from our home. I find it’s best in the autumn, less people ! Branch pond is also beautiful and easy to get to . Have a great weekend !

I’m back! Haha. Hoping to be more productive this year with filming my trips as I’ve been terribly undisciplined about it. Also trying to do a bicycle touring video this year finally which will be a fun experiment.

I am very lucky to survey where I do. Granted we have miserable days too, but almost never work in large cities. I prefer the woods, mountains, and fields.

I didn’t notice it. I’ll take a look when I make it back there. Really hoping to revisit this year.

@@christiandenniston7177 as you look at it going up stream it was on the right ,back a few layers

You’re correct I should wear it more. And any trips where conditions are more ‘difficult’ I do always have it on. Wore it for my entire AWW trip and am so glad I did. But conditions there are much different than the oswegatchie.

I purchased my boat used on FB Marketplace. I had to drive a good distance to get it but it was worth it for the price. Keep looking and something will come up. If you were up in Maine I’m sure your are familiar with the AWW. I canoed the 100 miles a year and a half ago and it was the trip of a lifetime. I had planned to film it but I had a mishap in some rapids and all electronics were destroyed. And that was DAY 1 hahaha. I always thought guiding would be fun, but then realized how much work it is!! I prefer my time alone in the wilderness :) love that you had an opportunity to survey when you were younger. Such an interesting and unique profession with strong ties to history. I love most every minute of it! I’ll be posting a new canoe video soon so please let me know what you think if you have a chance to watch it! Thank you for watching.

@@christiandenniston7177 A friend and I canoed the river section of the Allagash from Churchill Dam down in the early 1980s. We did the trip in late October and wound up getting snowed on while camped at Allagash Falls. I've done several of the classic canoe routes in Maine. Was always going to do the Saint John but water levels there are difficult to predict and therefore trip planning gets complicated. Land surveying wise I wound up working as a surveyor/layout engineer in Massachusetts, Florida, California, and Maine. Initially I did property and subdivision surveys but I wound up kind of specializing in construction layout. Did highways, airports, bridges, dams, golf courses, apartment buildings and one prestressed concrete plant. Worst job I ever had was working on the preliminary topo survey for the Miami Jetport where the mosquitoes drove me nuts and water moccasins, coral snakes and alligators were a constant worry. Sorry about your camera gear loss. I once dropped a camera bag with several thousand dollars of Nikon cameras and lenses into a river in Massachusetts. Dove in and got it out and shipped it all to Nikon for repair but they took too long to get to it and I lost it all. I'll keep an eye out for your next video! By the way I wound up following your example and found an almost unused 12' Old Town royalex Pack Canoe a few months ago. Got to paddle it 5 or 6 times before ice closed things down. Not the best tracking canoe I've ever paddled as it is both short and beamy but once I added some ballast up forward quite enjoyable. After 25 years of captaining tour boats along the Maine Coast it was a joy to experience quiet, self propelled travel, again!

You should post a video of your day sometime! This was an easy/simple day for us and that is why i took the opportunity to film it. We have plenty of mountains, ticks, thick brush, snow, and such to keep things fun and interesting! Haha. We do construction staking but nothing large scale commercial, which is fine with me because I agree that it gets monotonous. I prefer boundary work and manual topo mixed in every so often.

find a new place to work. there is plenty of different types of surveying work. Wages in the southeast are way lower on average friend, if you want to make more money now. Get out of Flat Florida. You can get your degree/license and work the office side from another state yeah. but thats years away.

@@greenberet3699 thanks for the reply. Things are a little better now that they paired me with another crew chief that is a little more considerate and less in a hurry all the time. I been getting more overtime lately and he's teaching me how to draw and some new skills. I'm not sure I want to stay in this line of work so I figure I learn what I can while taking an online course to get a job where I can live where I want and work remotely.

@@NikLyons work towards your license. I think if you're working towards you can justify the difficulties as you learn and work your way up. Like any profession, there are upsides and downsides, but I love surveying. Though I recognize its not for everyone!

@@christiandenniston7177 I actually started working with a different company. I left on good terms with the other company. We're on location and I been getting lots of overtime and per diem and learning some good stuff running base stations and rtk. I'm not as getting in as many shots as some of the other guys. I guess they know a few tricks typing in the next code during the 3 second observation. I like the guys I'm working with now and I'm making more money. I been away from my wife but she understands what I'm trying to do for us and she appreciates it. I'm not doing residential anymore. We're working on a huge 8 year project for Everglades restoration building a huge reservoir to help filter out runoff that was causing algae bloom problems. Or at least that's my understanding of what we're doing. I actually will travel out of state with this company so it's interesting. Thanks for the positive response and keep up the good Surveying!

They pulled chain

Steel chain or tape, Gurley Transit, Logarithm Tables, at least two more people, plumb bobs, range poles etc.